WHAT STEVENSON READ – his personal library

About

From early in 2008 a group of researchers (Professor Richard Dury of Bergamo, Italy, Dr. Roger G. Swearingen of Santa Rosa, California, and Neil Brown of Peebles, Scotland) have been compiling a database of books that belonged to Robert Louis Stevenson, principally those from Vailima, his home on Samoa. The database has drawn on the catalogues of libraries, museums and auction sales, as well as references in RLS’s letters and other writings.

Most of these books are probably still in private hands. If any reader of this owns books from Stevenson’s Library – or knows of their whereabouts – could they get in touch with Neil Macara Brown ( neilbrown136@btinternet.com ) so that information on the continued existence of the volume and (if permitted) on RLS’s annotations and proof of ownership can be put on our database. The owners’ wishes on privacy will be fully respected.

The project forms part of a collection of resources set up to assist editors working on a new edition of the Works of Robert Louis Stevenson to be published by Edinburgh University Press.